Both the processes of imperialism and defensive modernization have, over time, allowed the nations in the Middle East to become successfully integrated into the modern world system of nation-states and economics. This modern world system focused on a global division of labor; there were metropoles, which had thriving economies as they processed raw materials and sold them at a profit to weaker nations, known as the periphery states, which could not establish themselves enough to successfully produce and sell goods, but rather were only able to buy back their processed resources at an inflated price. This system allowed for imperialism to prosper, as it was possible for powerful empires to reap even more benefits from their colonies as territories with natural resources became an even more profitable venture. As economically imperialistic endeavors of large empires progressed, the weaker, peripheral nation-states began to combat this with the rise of defensive modernization, hoping to overhaul their old-fashioned ways and begin to make progress in the new modern world system as well as overcome their imperial rulers.
Economic imperialism, concessions, and capitulations were a vital tool in Europe’s nineteenth century influence over the Middle East. Imperialism, the policy of extending a nation or empire’s rule, influence or authority over foreign countries, or of possessing colonies and dependent nations, was utilized by numerous powers in Europe to develop control over Middle Eastern empires, as countries like Britain and France profited enormously off of the weaker areas of the region. An important tool used by these vast empires was to develop spheres of influence in these feeble territories, for instance the movement of French settlers into colonial Algeria to ensure that European culture was both very present in the country and to make it clear to the natives that this culture was much preferred by the ruling French government. As described by Edmund Burke and David Yaghoubian, the French clearly asserted extreme economic control over Algeria, but also social control. As described in their writings, Shaykh Muhammad, a powerful native Muslim in Algeria, needed written permission from the colonial regime to travel between zawiyas (a primitive form of savings banks), simply because he was Muslim. Not only was permission always required, but it was often refused, leaving notable Algerians unable to travel (Burke and Yaghoubian, page 125). This permission was required because of a French fear of pan-Islam, which translated to a fear of the highly religious Sufi brotherhood. The settlement of thousands of Europeans on Algerian territory contributed to an attempt to lessen Muslim influence and increase the ability of the French to promote their beliefs, rules, and, perhaps most importantly, their marketable goods. Another such example of the attempt to control colonial possessions through spheres of influence was one the Great Game that occurred between Britain and Russia when both were attempting to secure spheres of influence in the weakening Qajar Empire. Britain desired a buffer zone between India, one of its most valuable colonies, as well as access to ports in the Persian Gulf, originally attempting to conquer Afghanistan but failing due to the more powerful Russian empire that wanted to establish a neutral zone in Afghan territory. The British also wanted to establish spheres of influence in the Ottoman Empire, doing so not only by enforcing concessions and capitulations but also by utilizing Public Debt Administrations, collecting Ottoman debt to European credits with high interest, favoring the European banks. This put the Ottoman Empire at a severe disadvantage as it tried to finance the Crimean War, infrastructural improvements, and the enormous spending by its rulers, which led to the establishment of the Ottoman Public Debt Administration. This administration was used not only in the Ottoman Empire but also in Egypt to allow European imperial powers to profit off of the struggling nation, while simultaneously using its debts to keep it emerging into the metropole of the modern world system.
In Egypt, Muhammad Ali’s attempts at reform were succeeded by rulers who gave in to free trade with the British, relied heavily on external debt instead of internal resources, and demolished state monopolies, which eventually resulted in extreme trouble making repayments as the value of cotton, Egypt’s main export, plummeted after the American Civil War. In less than fifteen years, Egypt’s external debt multiplied by about twenty-three times its beginning value, and revenue for the nation only quintupled. Egypt became forced to constantly borrow more money from different nations in an attempt to repay its towering debts, and from 1870 on, foreign bankers coerced Khedive Ismail Pasha into selling the infrastructures of the nation, giving up Egypt’s shares in the Suez Canal Company to Britain in 1875, and raising taxes consistently. The loss of many valuable assets, coupled with the nation already drowning in debt for years prior, counteracted Muhammad Ali’s previous attempts at reform as even infrastructural property was sold to foreign powers. The Public Debt Fund of Egypt, established in 1876 jointly by France and the United Kingdom, had full control over various state revenues and began a restructuring of Egyptian debt, with a sixty five year repayment plan and a raise in interest on the debts to seven percent. The Egyptian revenues provided income for both imperial empires, putting Egypt at a severe economic disadvantage. The loss of economic resources in this way allowed the nation to return to the periphery of the modern world system, merely exporting raw cotton to have it processed elsewhere (often Britain) and sold back to Egyptians for a much steeper price. However, this type of severe economic imperialism was met with hearty pushback from Egyptians, perhaps most notably with the development of the Urabi Revolt. This revolt had a main goal of diminishing the amount of foreign influence over Egypt, particularly that of Britain and France. Ismail Pasha’s successor, Ismail Tawfiq, accepted the control of Britain and France over his nation’s revenues as well as the repayment system that assigned sixty percent of revenue to recovering from debt, an agreement that many citizens from various social classes loathed. The rebellion that developed to overthrow Tawfiq ended with British occupation as they feared the Dual Control over the debt and economy would be demolished, and the British reinstated Tawfiq and began to occupy the nation. This economic control, coupled with military occupation and the ensuing fear from citizens, allowed the British to control Egypt and therefore force it into the periphery as it struggled to repay its debt, since revenue was barely increasing; further, foreign European powers took a portion of their revenue on top of the large chunk already going toward repayment. As the economy was being strangled by foreign control, the only feasible way to keep the nation’s economy afloat was to fall into the periphery of the modern world system and export raw materials rather than processed, more profitable goods.
Capitulations were a hugely profitable tool for powerful imperiums, like the British Empire, though they were an enormous burden on smaller nations, often resulting in public outrage and governmental distress. The Treaty of Balta-Liman, a formal trade agreement between the United Kingdom and the Sublime Porte of the Ottoman Empire, signed in 1838, put in effect a series of capitulations that greatly increased Britain’s economic stronghold in the empire, as well as diminishing the Ottoman economy. The agreement stated that the Ottoman Empire must abolish all of its monopolies on any of the nation’s industries, allow British access to all Ottoman markets with a lesser rate of taxation than Ottoman citizens, not require the British to obtain and possess permits for trade, and also required a set regulation of duties on exports so the British would not be disadvantaged when exporting Ottoman goods (urunlu.com). This treaty was completely one-sided and placed the Ottomans, already struggling due to the Russo-Ottoman war of 1828-1829 and failed agreements with Egyptians, namely Muhammad Ali Pasha, into an even steeper economic downfall as their economy essentially became a free market for British and other western products. Local industries that produced commodities from raw materials were still in a rather fledgling state and unable to fully compete with European products, eventually leading to the necessity to export only raw materials rather than finished goods. This allowed the Ottoman Empire to begin to fall into the category of weaker-nation states that were sinking into the periphery of the Modern World System, as it succumbed to foreign rule over its economy.
Due to the extreme imperialistic situation ensuing in the Middle East, many nations felt the need to rapidly modernize their technology and infrastructure in order to become more capable of resisting the advance of these sovereign powers. This process was known as defensive modernization, and while it occasionally allowed nations to engage in successful resistance, it more so contributed to the destructive cycle of imperialism. This was due to the periphery nations often being too poor to complete such an expensive remodeling of their entire structure, so they were forced to borrow money from wealthier nations, almost always imperial rulers. Aside from economic downfall, this also led poor, fledgling nations to have little choice other than accept European concessions that took advantage of their weakness, since, as they became further indebted, the poorer nations would have an even more difficult time paying their debts. This was the case in the Qajar Empire, as the Shah desired a more modern nation, which would hopefully garner more economic power in the modern world system, and began to borrow large sums of money from wealthy European powers, further indebting his nation already struggling to modernize and rebel against foreign imperialistic tendencies. As his nation continued to struggle economically in the imperial grasp, repayment became further out of reach and it was necessary to borrow more money from other nations, creating a vicious cycle of debt and failed repayment, and also stopping the Qajar Empire from emerging into the metropole. A continuing effort to repay debts led to the Shah essentially giving away large swaths of valuable resources of the empire, such as in the D’Arcy Concession, in which nearly all of modern-day Iran’s oil supply was granted to one man, William Knox D’Arcy. Shares of this precious resource were then sold off to investors, depriving the feeble nation of a huge source of income. This implementation of a concession by British powers was only one instance of this political tool being utilized to hinder defensive modernization and integration into the metropole.
Concessions were used widely throughout the nineteenth century, plaguing Middle Eastern development with an untreatable case of economic failure. Aside from the D’Arcy concession which took away the Qajar Empire’s most valuable resource and placed it in the hands of a single British man and his investors, the Reuter Concession was an agreement made by Nasir al-Din Shah which pushed the empire further into economic distress. This accord declared that British businessman, Baron Julius de Reuter, would control all Persian telegraphs, roads, extractions of various resources, mills, factories, and a number of other public works projects in exchange for a specified stipend for five years and sixty percent of the entire net revenue for twenty years. This greatly impacted the Persian economy, as well as taking local and national infrastructure projects and public works jobs out of the hands of Persian citizens, leaving them with no option but to try to export raw materials and resources in an attempt to earn a liveable wage during this economic downturn due to foreign control. These forms of concessions led to further outrage from the public and, in turn, built up desire for societal reforms as well as militaristic reforms.
With this modernization seemingly encompassing the Middle East, many new ideas, inventions, and systems emerged. New marketplaces and coffee shops, coupled with the development of the printing press, allowed the widespread distribution of information, propaganda, and ideas about reforms, government, and more. Aside from simply spreading these ideas, the national ability to share these common threads of communication fostered a sense of unity within the nation, probably one of the biggest benefits of defensive modernization as it helped citizens feel involved in their country. For the first time, rural and urban areas could be connected and understand events occurring within their nation. This concept was exemplified by the situation in Damascus written about by Edmund Burke and David Yaghoubian, in which weary weavers settled down at a coffee shop after a long day to lament about their new wage cut. In Damascus in January 1879, there was widespread conversation about how to combat this pay cut, and the ability to communicate effectively in publicly accessible places, like the novel’s example of a coffee shop, allowed a strike of thousands of workers to form. They won their battle and their original rate of pay was reinstated (Burke and Yaghoubian, page 66). Modern innovations like the printing press, coffee shops, and other types of marketplaces enabled information like that of a wage cut to spread, be reacted to, and, perhaps most importantly, allowed commoners to plan uprisings to express their disdain. It was a new method for citizens to communicate with both the government and those in societal positions, like the owners of factories and textile mills. Further, although the few thousand people involved in this strike certainly did not know each other, these modern breakthroughs allowed them to unite for a valuable cause- a microcosmic example of how these changes, brought by their government’s system of defensive modernization, influenced entire nations.
Education was also somewhat revolutionized with this vast reach of information. Many schools began to teach European subjects and theories, and went on to produce a vast number of educated reformers. The Young Ottomans of the Ottoman Empire, who went on to establish the constitutional revolution and put the Ottoman Constitution into place, came out of these schools, as well as the Young Turks who eventually formed the Committee of Union and Progress that called for democratization, political reform, and military modernization within the empire. There were more European-style military institutions emerging at this time as well. The military continued to defensively modernize across some nations of the Middle East, including the large-scale murder of Ottoman janissaries through the “Auspicious Incident,” in favor of replacing them with a new, more advanced and modern military, a rather brutal tactic but a form of modernization nonetheless. Further, the Iranian Cossack Brigade developed, and the relatively new concept of conscription began to be instituted. There also began to be more centralized leadership of the armed forces. The increase in centralized leadership did not expand only into the military, but into taxation reforms as well. The government worked to evaluate all citizens’ personal ability to pay taxes and determined what rate they should be taxed at. Citizens were beginning to be looked at as real members of the nation contributing to the greater good, and these reforms helped foster a nationalistic pride in the affected areas, making people feel pride in their country and want to ward off foreign intervention. Further, this totalization helped the countries establish themselves as functioning nation-states able to be incorporated into the modern world system.
As strong nations’ imperialistic tendencies began to encompass the weaker nations and empires of the Middle East, discord grew within these regions as they were economically strangled by greater powers. This economic strain led to a desire to ward off the great imperiums of the time, requiring a process known as defensive modernization of the weaker nation-states, a system of reforms including educational, militaristic, economic, and infrastructural improvements in an attempt to become self-sufficient and free of the imperial grasp. However, the cycle of needing to borrow money from greater dominions to perform these innovations led to the even more vicious cycle of repayment of debt, which these weaker populaces were often unable to do successfully, bringing them further under the clutch of imperialism. Although attempting to modernize, these weak nation-states simply did not have the funding or the ability to pay back their creditors, and they began to only survive economically by exporting raw materials, like cotton, to the metropole, where it was then processed and sold back to them with a profit for the European nations. This series of events resulted in the fall of these weak nation-states into the periphery of the modern world system of nation-states and economics.